BY YUSUFU SHEHU USMAN. The people of Lafia have neither the right nor the power to stop the FG from citing projects in any other local government
However, with regards to the citing of the FULAFIA Teaching Hospital, even common sense will dictate that Lafia is the most appropriate and most suitable location for the following good reasons among others
The host university is in Lafia
The Faculty of Medical Sciences of the University is in Lafia
There is in place a Specialist Hospital in Lafia which can be easily be upgraded in terms of facilities and equipment to serve the needs of the Teaching Hospital
The Nasarawa State Government has earmarked a permanent site for the FULAFIA Teaching Hospital and it’s being developed for that specific purpose
There is a School of Nursing and Midwifery in Lafia and a School of Lab Technology in Lafia
The above are the full compliment of the requirements needed for the training of doctors in an environment that provides full clinical services to support comprehensive Medical training by the Faculty of Medical Sciences of Federal University Lafia
It’s not about sentiments but all about facts which are on ground
It doesn’t make sense to locate the Teaching Hospital over one hundred kilometers away from the Faculty of Medicine and in a location without a School of Nursing
We are not oblivious of the fact that the Federal Government has not yet taken a final decision on the issue.
It is still within the realms of recommendation which does not foreclose further or additional facts that can aid the Government in reaching a final decision
Lafia has all it takes to host both the faculty of Medicine and the teaching hospital for the federal University and it’s placed at a greater advantage than any other distant location for this purpose
I therefore suggest with all due respect that the Federal Government should seriously consider using the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital as the nucleus of the FULAFIA Teaching Hospital while development of the permanent site is aggressively pursued
It should be appreciated that building a teaching hospital is a continuous project, the development of which is executed in incremental phases. There is enough land secured in the permanent site for physical expansion as the need may arise with time
This view is not an agitation nor is it founded on Political sentiments but on the realities of the facts on the ground, which are verifiable and also conducive for the establishment of the Teaching Hospital
I appeal very passionately to the Federal Government to settle the issue in favour of locating the Teaching Hospital in Lafia where it truly and most appropriately belongs